counsel
/ˈkaʊn.səl/
counsel noun: the exchange of opinions and advice especially in legal issues; consultation.
Noun
counsel (countable and uncountable, plural counsels or counsel)
- The exchange of opinions and advice especially in legal issues; consultation.
- Bleſſed is that man that hath not walked in the counſaile of the vngodly: nor ſtand in the waye of ſynners, and hath not ſit in the ſeate of ſkornefull.1549 March 7, Thomas Cranmer [et al.], compilers, “The Introites, Collectes, Epistles, and Gospels to be Used at the Celebracion of the Lordes Supper & Holy Communion, throughe the Yeare: With Proper...
- All the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus, to put him to death.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 27:1
- Exercise of judgment; prudence.
- They all confess, therefore, in the working of that first cause, that counsel is used.[1594], Richard Hooker, edited by J[ohn] S[penser], Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie, […], London: […] Iohn Windet, […], →OCLC, (please specify the page)
- Advice; guidance.
- I like thy counsel; well hast thou advised.c. 1590–1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Two Gentlemen of Verona”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...
- This Book will make a Travailer of thee, / If by its Counſel thou wilt ruled be; / It will direct thee to the Holy Land, / If thou wilt its Directions understand: / Yea, it will make the ſloathful, active be; / The Blind alſo, delightful things to ſee.1678, John Bunyan, “The Author’s Apology for His Book”, in The Pilgrim’s Progress from This World, to That which is to Come: […], London: […] Nath[aniel] Ponder […], →OCLC
- Synonyms:
- exhortation, suggestion, admonition, advice, consent, recommendation, rede, tip
- Deliberate purpose; design; intent; scheme; plan.
- The counsel of the Lord standeth forever.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalms 33:11
- The counsels of the wicked are deceit.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Proverbs 12:5
- A lawyer, as in King's Counsel (KC) or Queen's Counsel (QC).
- Synonyms:
- advocate, counselor, abogado, attorney, avocat, latitat, lawman, lawyer, legal representative, limb of the law
Verb
counsel (third-person singular simple present counsels, present participle (US) counseling or (UK) counselling, simple past and past participle (US) counseled or (UK) counselled)
- To give advice, especially professional advice, to (somebody).
- The lawyer counselled his client to remain silent.
- Psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers and other mental health professionals counsel clients.
- To recommend (a course of action).
- I would counsel prudence in this matter.
- He counseled his daughter to resist the lure of hatred and bitterness.2019, Colson Whitehead, The Nickel Boys, Fleet, page 10
counsel meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali
counsel in Hindi
- lawyer
- वकील vakīl
counsel in Tamil
- உணர்த்து, அறிவுரை கூறு, அறிவுரை, அறிவுரைஞர், ஆலோசகர், கருத்துரை
counsel in Urdu
- فکر, مشورہ, مشاورت, نصیحت, پند, رائے
counsel in Bengali
- counsel
- কৌঁসুলি kōũśuli
- counsel, advice
- যুক্তি jukti
More languagesFewer languages
- counsel in Malayalam
- ഔദ്യോഗികമായി നൽകുന്ന ഉപദേശം, നിയമോപദേഷ്ടാവ്, വക്കീൽ, പര്യാലോചന
- counsel in Kannada
- ವಕೀಲ, ನ್ಯಾಯವಾದಿ, ಸಲಹೆ, ಅಭಿಪ್ರಾಯ
- counsel in Tagalog
- maghinanaw
- counsel in Arabic
- شُورَى šūrā, مَشُورَة mašūra, نَصَحَ naṣaḥa
Examples of counsel in a sentence
- He was tapped by the president to act as a special counsel.
- All the complaints she'd bottled up came gushing out during their marriage counselling session.
- “Would counsel please approach the bench?” asked the judge.
Synonyms of counsel
9 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Forms of counsel
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | counsels |
| plural | counsel |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | counsels |
| present participle US | counseling |
| present participle UK | counselling |
| past participle US | counseled |
| past US | counseled |
| past participle UK | counselled |
| past UK | counselled |
Origin of counsel
From Middle English counseil, conseil, from Old French conseil, from Latin cōnsilium, of unknown origin but possibly from either com- + calō (via a phonetic variant of concilium) or cōnsulō.
From Middle English counseilen, from Old French conseiller, from Latin cōnsilior, from cōnsilium.
Words formed from counsel
Phrases with counsel
Words that rhyme with counsel
Questions about counsel
- What does counsel mean?
- Counsel means the exchange of opinions and advice especially in legal issues; consultation.
- What is counsel in Hindi?
- Counsel in Hindi is वकील (vakīl). See Counsel meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is counsel?
- Counsel can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce counsel?
- Counsel is pronounced /ˈkaʊn.səl/.
- What is the plural of counsel?
- The plural of counsel is counsels.
Words near counsel in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: counsel (page history and authors); counsel (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); counsel (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); কৌঁসুলি (Bengali) (page history and authors); counsel (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); counsel (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-counsel.ogg.
Cite this entry: “counsel.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/counsel. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.